Why is the Catholic Church hated so much?

[JustaServant]

That was very informative, thanks. However, God’s grace (unmerited, unearned favor) is freely given not matter what ‘context’ anyone wants to put it in.
Now, I don’t understand why anyone would try to ‘pay back’ God for a free gift, but that’s just me. Seriously think about that: God gives His grace to you freely, as a GIFT, and you try to perform ‘tricks’ for Him. Doesn’t make sense, does it?
Hey, I go your house and give you a gift. After you see the gift and how beautiful it is, you go into your wallet and try to pay me for the gift. How offensive it THAT? Or how about you see the beautiful gift then say to me, “How about I cut your grass for the rest of the year?” Really?
Uh, NO. See, it just doesn’t add up.
We, thank our gracious and wonderful God, are saved by grace alone!!! Hallelujah!!

First, Catholics ultimately believe that we are saved, not by faith or works, but by Jesus Christ and Him alone. Jesus Christ’s death and Resurrection is the sole source of our justification (being in a right relationship with God) and salvation (sharing in God’s divine life). But as a result of Christ’s death and resurrection, we are now able to receive God’s grace. Grace is God’s own divine life which He infuses into our souls. It is what Adam initially lost for us, and Christ won back for us. This grace initially causes us to seek God and to believe in Him (the “faith” part). Non-Catholics generally stop here.

But God desires us to respond to His grace by putting our faith into action (the “works” part). This is why Jesus always taught about our salvation in the context of what we actually did during our earthly lives, and not how much faith we had (“whatever you did to the least of my brothers, you did to Me.” Matthew 25:40,45). When Jesus teaches about His second coming where He will separate the sheep from the goats, He bases salvation and damnation upon what we actually did (“works”), whether righteous or evil. Matthew 25:31-46. In James 2:14-26, James is similarly instructing us to put our faith into action by performing good works, and not just giving an intellectual assent of faith. James says such “faith apart from works is dead.” James 2:17,26.

So we must do more than accept Jesus as personal Lord and Savior. Even the demons believe Jesus is Savior, and yet “they tremble.” James 2:19. We must also do good works. Faith is the beginning of a process that leads us toward justification, but faith alone never obtains the grace of justification. Faith and works acting together achieve our justification. Saint Paul says it best when he writes that we need “faith working in love.” Galatians 5:6. We are not justified and saved by faith alone.

Secondly, it is important to distinguish between the “works” James taught about in James 2:24 and the “works of the law” Saint Paul taught about in Rom. 3:20,28; Gal. 2:16,21; 3:2,5,10; and Eph. 2:8-9. Protestants generally confuse James’ “good works” from Paul’s “works of the law” when they attempt to prove that “works” are irrelevant to justification and salvation. The “works of the law” Paul taught about in Ephesians 2:8-9 and elsewhere referred to the Mosaic law and their legal system that made God obligated to reward them for their works. They would thus “boast” about their works by attributing their works to themselves. Cf. Rom. 4:2; Eph. 2:9. Saint Paul taught that, with the coming of Christ, the Mosaic (moral, legal, and ceremonial) law which made God a debtor to us no longer justified a person. Instead, Paul taught that we are now justified and saved by grace (not legal obligation) through faith (not works of law). Eph. 2:5,8. Hence, we no longer “boast” by attributing our works to ourselves. We attribute them to God who gives everything to us freely by His grace.

Therefore, we are no longer required to fulfill the “works of law,” but to fulfill the “law of Christ” Gal. 6:2. This is why Paul writes that the “doers of the law (of Christ)” will be justified. Rom. 2:13. Of course, the “works of the law” Paul wrote about in Rom. 3:20,28; Gal. 2:16,21; 3:2,5,10 and Eph. 2:8-9 have nothing to do with the “good works” James is teaching in James 2:24 or the “law” Paul is teaching about in Rom. 2:13 (because they are part of the same Word of God which can never contradict itself).

 

[newcreation2009]

II. The Necessity and Practice of Orally Confessing Sins
James 5:16 - James clearly teaches us that we must “confess our sins to one another,” not just privately to God. James 5:16 must be read in the context of James 5:14-15, which is referring to the healing power (both physical and spiritual) of the priests of the Church. Hence, when James says “therefore” in verse 16, he must be referring to the men he was writing about in verses 14 and 15 – these men are the ordained priests of the Church, to whom we must confess our sins.

Acts 19:18 - many came to orally confess sins and divulge their sinful practices. Oral confession was the practice of the early Church just as it is today.

Matt. 3:6; Mark 1:5 - again, this shows people confessing their sins before others as an historical practice (here to John the Baptist).

1 Tim. 6:12 - this verse also refers to the historical practice of confessing both faith and sins in the presence of many witnesses.

1 John 1:9 - if we confess are sins, God is faithful to us and forgives us and cleanse us. But we must confess our sins to one another.

Num. 5:7 - this shows the historical practice of publicly confessing sins, and making public restitution.

2 Sam. 12:14 - even though the sin is forgiven, there is punishment due for the forgiven sin. David is forgiven but his child was still taken (the consequence of his sin).

Neh. 9:2-3 - the Israelites stood before the assembly and confessed sins publicly and interceded for each other.

Sir. 4:26 - God tells us not to be ashamed to confess our sins, and not to try to stop the current of a river. Anyone who has experienced the sacrament of reconciliation understands the import of this verse.

Baruch 1:14 - again, this shows that the people made confession in the house of the Lord, before the assembly.

1 John 5:16-17; Luke 12:47-48 - there is a distinction between mortal and venial sins. This has been the teaching of the Catholic Church for 2,000 years, but, today, most Protestants no longer agree that there is such a distinction. Mortal sins lead to death and must be absolved in the sacrament of reconciliation. Venial sins do not have to be confessed to a priest, but the pious Catholic practice is to do so in order to advance in our journey to holiness.

Matt. 5:19 - Jesus teaches that breaking the least of commandments is venial sin (the person is still saved but is least in the kingdom), versus mortal sin (the person is not saved).

JS, if you want to continue to be frustrated all your life by trying to perform to get into heaven, go right ahead. However, check this out:
Matthew 12:31-32
31 "Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven.

32 "And whoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in the {age} to come.

Followers of Christ ARE forgiven already. Hallelujah!!

 

[tbcrawford]

I think that historically speaking, when we put ourselves in the presence of the earlier cultures in other lands we can see how anxious people were led by elders (priests, bishops, deacons, and even governments). Rulers beleived that insilling fear in people was proper and most effective in keeping their people in tact. There are theories that insist a successful method of keeping a government of people in tact is for them to have a common language, herritage, religion, … belief system. America used to be a melting pot… that is until a group of people turned down the heat. This created less melting and more clumping. SO, in theory it may be true or effective, but is is right?

On the latter concept, the Catholic Church attempts to respect the cultures, historically. However, bishops and priest and deacons, are only human beings bestowed with much responsibility. Even in the Church there are, unfortunately, ambitious people. That’s why there have been so many bad, if not evil, leaders within the hierarchy. The individual or groups cluttered to give the illusion the Church allows or teaches such heresy and evil within its ranks are what have given the Church over all a bad rap. We, apparently, have been our worst enemy.

The Church hierarchy consists of many humble men that are well meaning. As governments are sometimes isolated from the norms of life’s struggles, they also tend to not really see the reality of day to day harshness of life. However, throughout history there have been many that have recognized this harshness and embracing of it. The Saints, Benedict, Francis, Dominic, Augustine, John of the Cross, etc. The list goes on and on.

But the scandals seem to be reaching Rome, the higher ups. The response in many places seem to have become too sensitive to the disturbances. Harsh treatment of homosexuals, poor treatment of Jews, again, the list goes on. We forget that the Church teaches officially truth, but practically speaking, all of us are subjected to the idiosyncrasies of human nature in the context of their specific societies/cultures. It takes an enormous amount of work to rise above our "idiosyncrasies.

Geography has opened my mind to the possibilities that most of us are overly harsh towards each other without even realizing the diverse cultures from which others come from. There are cultures within cultures. America is one of many perfect examples.

 

[wisdomseeker]

You say, “Catholics dont just do good works because they want to be saved, they do [it] in obedience to Christ and hope to receive the reward God has promised to us.”
Tim : Really, then what is "Penance’ all about? And I’m not being flippant either.

Penance is something we do to show God how sorry we are. it is pleasing to God that we do so. When you cause someone harm, you better not say just i am sorry. you better do more than just words or that person will not be made whole.

Jesus Sacrifice was not meant to make us proud. it was meant to makes even more humble before God.

the Jews know God and everytime they sinned against God, they not only repented but they did many things to show God they had repented.

We have the Sacrifice that is offered every day to God, which is the offering of the Body and Blood of Christ is a constant reminder to God to forgive us. So, the Church has the mission to offer this Sacrifice that we may be forgiven daily. we are a very sinfull people and we sin through thoughts, words, and actions.

 

[JustaServant]

JS, if you want to continue to be frustrated all your life by trying to perform to get into heaven, go right ahead. However, check this out:
Matthew 12:31-32
31 "Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven.

32 "And whoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in the {age} to come.

Followers of Christ ARE forgiven already. Hallelujah!!

Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is denial of the Holy Spirit.

The Pharisees that Jesus warned had witnessed God’s works in a way that there was no more that could be done to change their mind. That’s why Jesus said if not for the teaching at least believe for the miracles they saw. They were saying that the works of God were the works of Beelzabub. There was no reason for them to deny the works they saw were from God except they didn’t want them to be and they were rejecting God openly and consciously. A person able to do this must be very close to being in an eternal ( changeless) state of hating God.

Satan rejected God after knowing God . In as much as God could be known to him Satan rejected God. What more could God do? If God is revealed to us in as much as is proper to our state of being what more can God do to change our mind?

After God has become man and lived and died among us, after the humiliation of the cross, can God stoop any lower? If we live a life knowing God has done this and refuse to acknowledge what it means we aren’t much different than the Pharisees Jesus warned.

Forgiveness of sins is the infusion of grace by the Holy Spirit, which is a gift from God. You can’t ask for a gift from somebody who you don’t think exists. You also won’t receive a gift from somebody when you refuse it by saying they can’t/won’t give it to you, which is another way of blaspheming against Him.

 

[wisdomseeker]

JS, if you want to continue to be frustrated all your life by trying to perform to get into heaven, go right ahead. However, check this out:
Matthew 12:31-32
31 "Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven.

32 "And whoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in the {age} to come.

Followers of Christ ARE forgiven already. Hallelujah!!

I see. and you are perfect right? and no longer commits any sins. humm… just a reminder on how you are commiting a sin right now by rejecting the Holy Church of God and her teachings. before you were in darkness and did not know but now you do for i have told you.

 

[wisdomseeker]

Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is denial of the Holy Spirit.

The Pharisees that Jesus warned had witnessed God’s works in a way that there was no more that could be done to change their mind. That’s why Jesus said if not for the teaching at least believe for the miracles they saw. They were saying that the works of God were the works of Beelzabub. There was no reason for them to deny the works they saw were from God except they didn’t want them to be and they were rejecting God openly and consciously. A person able to do this must be very close to being in an eternal ( changeless) state of hating God.

Satan rejected God after knowing God . In as much as God could be known to him Satan rejected God. What more could God do? If God is revealed to us in as much as is proper to our state of being what more can God do to change our mind?

After God has become man and lived and died among us, after the humiliation of the cross, can God stoop any lower? If we live a life knowing God has done this and refuse to acknowledge what it means we aren’t much different than the Pharisees Jesus warned.

Forgiveness of sins is the infusion of grace by the Holy Spirit, which is a gift from God. You can’t ask for a gift from somebody who you don’t think exists. You also won’t receive a gift from somebody when you refuse it by saying they can’t/won’t give it to you, which is another way of blaspheming against Him.

I think he is going get a Bible study here. He keeps quoting disconnected Verses from the Bible as if he knows what he is talking about. And he is also going to get educated in the history of the Jews and God.

 

[GreggAlvarez]

If that is true, then can you tell me how much work is needed to be saved?

Besides you, who on here ever said anything about an amount.

A person is saved by Jesus’ work on the cross, and if you think that anything that you do, no matter how ‘good’ it is, will get you into heaven, then you are demeaning Christ’s sacrifice for us.

The fact the you say we are doesn’t make it true. READ WHAT JUSTASERVANT POSTED!

(What is ‘good’ anyway? And what if I do more ‘good’ than you? Do I get ‘first dibbs’?)

The first question is a good question. The others are just stupid. There is no other word for that.

As the apostle Paul put it,
“As it is written, there is none righteous, no not one” (Romans 3:10)
and he said that “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
We become truly righteous NOT through our own righteousness, but through the power of Christ’s righteousness.

Agreed.

Therefore, to become more like Christ we must partake of the divine nature of Christ (2 Peter 1:4) and His righteousness.

True again. You are on a roll.

Saved by grace:
A.(Ephesians 2:8-9) - “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that NOT OF YOURSELVES, it is the gift of God; NOT AS A RESULT OF WORKS, that no one should boast.”

Let me continue this passage, so nobody is left unaware that good works should be left out of the Christian picture:

10: For we are His handiwork, created Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them

D.(James 2:24) - “You see that a man is JUSTIFIED BY WORKS, and not by faith alone.”
God does not want a faith that is empty and hypocritical. James 2 is talking about those who “say” that they have faith but have no works. Therefore, people cannot tell if they are true believers or not, because there is no fruit. That kind of a faith is useless and is not a saving faith. True faith RESULTS IN true works.
There is no contradiction at all when we examine the contexts.
We are justified by faith but that faith must be alive
And how is that faith alive? Good works.

No good works. Dead faith. No salvation.

Good works. Living faith. Salvation.

You proved our doctrine. We are saved by Faith and Works.

Remember ‘FUTURECATHOLIC’, we sin because we are sinners. We AREN’T sinners because we sin. And since we are sinners we NEED a Savior, and that Savior is Jesus Christ, NOT your ‘‘good’’ works. Please don’t try to rely on anything you do to get you into heaven, you’ll be sadly mistaken one day.

What part of “Faith AND Good works” do you not understand? Nobody here relies on good works. We have said repeatedly Faith AND good works. Nobody is saying good works only. Geez. I am waiting for the day where you actually refute something we actually believe.

You are sadly mistaken this day and a lot of other days.

 

[GreggAlvarez]

You say, “Catholics dont just do good works because they want to be saved, they do [it] in obedience to Christ and hope to receive the reward God has promised to us.”
Tim : Really, then what is "Penance’ all about? And I’m not being flippant either.

Penance is the outward sign of repentance. Kind of like body and soul (good Frank Sinatra song by the way). Repentance being the soul and penance being the body. Doing penance doesn’t mean we are doingit to be saved. We are doing it out of obedience and humility.

 

[GreggAlvarez]

JS, if you want to continue to be frustrated all your life by trying to perform to get into heaven, go right ahead.

JS worked too hard for you to give such a derisive and unintelligent remark. He has been trying to show Faith AND Works through many well-researched Scriptural verses. And then you just disregard them and continue on with your rudeness.

JS may be frustrated with you, but he is certainly not trying to “perform to get into heaven”.

If you want to continue to act like another Christian hypocrite, go right ahead.

However, check this out:
Matthew 12:31-32
31 "Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven.

32 "And whoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in the {age} to come.

Followers of Christ ARE forgiven already. Hallelujah!!

Notice the difference in your theology and in the Scriptures.

Scriptures: “shall be forgiven”

Tim: “are forgiven”

I can tell you one thing. You are certainly not forgiven of your many insults on this website, until you contritely confess them.

Jesus Himself as well as other authors of the Bible (NT and OT) command that we confess our sins for forgiveness.

The way you worded it assumes we have absolutely no responsibility for our sins once we believe in Christ, nor are we accountable. Jesus took that weight off our backs for us. No, that is absolutely wrong.

 

[FutureCatholic1]

If that is true, then can you tell me how much work is needed to be saved?
A person is saved by Jesus’ work on the cross, and if you think that anything that you do, no matter how ‘good’ it is, will get you into heaven, then you are demeaning Christ’s sacrifice for us. (What is ‘good’ anyway? And what if I do more ‘good’ than you? Do I get ‘first dibbs’?)
As the apostle Paul put it,
“As it is written, there is none righteous, no not one” (Romans 3:10)
and he said that “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
We become truly righteous NOT through our own righteousness, but through the power of Christ’s righteousness. Therefore, to become more like Christ we must partake of the divine nature of Christ (2 Peter 1:4) and His righteousness.
Saved by grace:
A.(Ephesians 2:8-9) - “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that NOT OF YOURSELVES, it is the gift of God; NOT AS A RESULT OF WORKS, that no one should boast.”
B.(Rom. 3:20, 28) - “because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin…For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.”
C.(Galatians 2:16) - “nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law BUT THROUGH FAITH IN CHRIST JESUS, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified.”
D.(James 2:24) - “You see that a man is JUSTIFIED BY WORKS, and not by faith alone.”
God does not want a faith that is empty and hypocritical. James 2 is talking about those who “say” that they have faith but have no works. Therefore, people cannot tell if they are true believers or not, because there is no fruit. That kind of a faith is useless and is not a saving faith. True faith RESULTS IN true works.
There is no contradiction at all when we examine the contexts.
We are justified by faith but that faith must be alive (James 2).
The Law cannot save us because we are incapable of keeping it (Matthew 19:16-17). Therefore, salvation is by grace through faith.
Remember ‘FUTURECATHOLIC’, we sin because we are sinners. We AREN’T sinners because we sin. And since we are sinners we NEED a Savior, and that Savior is Jesus Christ, NOT your ‘‘good’’ works. Please don’t try to rely on anything you do to get you into heaven, you’ll be sadly mistaken one day.

You twist my meaning i never sayed you work your way to heaven i said it is a COMBINATION of GRACE&WORKS
man can never work his way to heaven but neither can we just say God came into me and ‘save’ me. the bible says /But as for cowards, the unfaithful, the depraved, murderers, the unchaste, sorcerers, idol-worshipers, and deceivers of every sort, their lot is in the burning pool of fire and sulfur, which is the second death."/will not be in heaven if according to YOU they believe in Gods grace they will get to heaven therefore following your logic of grace alone the bible contradices itself.

 

[GreggAlvarez]

You twist my meaning i never sayed you work your way to heaven i said it is a COMBINATION of GRACE&WORKS
man can never work his way to heaven but neither can we just say God came into me and ‘save’ me. the bible says /But as for cowards, the unfaithful, the depraved, murderers, the unchaste, sorcerers, idol-worshipers, and deceivers of every sort, their lot is in the burning pool of fire and sulfur, which is the second death."/will not be in heaven if according to YOU they believe in Gods grace they will get to heaven therefore following your logic of grace alone the bible contradices itself.

In defense of our friend newcreation, he has made it abundantly clear that he doesn’t care what we have to say. He has also made it clear that he will disregard any corrections we make to his view of our positions. He has also made it clear that twist he can and twist he shall. He has also made it clear that he is here not to listen to Catholics. He has also made it clear that he is here to teach Catholics Scripture passages they have never seen before in their 2000-year life.

I hope that clarifies some things for you.

 

[Julia_Mae]

I have come across this general sentiment of hostility from a variety of people- I’m sure that every Catholic must have. Now I know that there are as many reasons and angles to this as there are groups of people out there.

Please share charitably. Why?

Satan

 

[FutureCatholic1]

new creation u forgot verse ten in Ephesians 2:8-9 you should have put ten there too i can respect that you think scripture alone is right but don’t stop using a passage of scripture when it suits you

 

[Tony888]

Penance is the outward sign of repentance. Kind of like body and soul (good Frank Sinatra song by the way). Repentance being the soul and penance being the body. Doing penance doesn’t mean we are doingit to be saved. We are doing it out of obedience and humility.

And God expects us to not repeat our sins!
Repentance that includes penance can be very helpful in changing sinful behaviors

 

[Jack_Bauer]

I see. and you are perfect right? and no longer commits any sins. humm… just a reminder on how you are commiting a sin right now by rejecting the Holy Church of God and her teachings. before you were in darkness and did not know but now you do for i have told you.

NOT EXACTLY TRUE… one fingere typing

 

[hunt]

To the OP I dont believe that the church is hated. I just know that as catholics we have alot of policies and members that feel very strongly in their opinions whether right or wrong even when there is no clear definitive answer and the only authority for such answers would be members of the clergy.

I’m no expert, but if you read my post I put on here, and imagine I was a young person having questions for the church. The responses I’d recieved would cause me to turn away.

 

[Roy5]

I doubt if many people hate the Catholic Church.

What is true that millions strongly take issue with the Catholic Church. Here are three of the reasons.

** 1. Many people, certainly among mainline Protestants, disagree totally with the idea that only one religion is true in all that it preaches and teaches**, and that this applies only to Catholicism. Most mainline Protestants are ecumenical and ready, even eager, to maintain good relations with Catholicism, but they prefer to ‘agree to disagree’. They become annoyed when they are told that their religion, and every other religion, may be partly right but that only Catholicism is 100% right. They flatly reject the authority of the church and any church and insist on thinking for themselves, permitting considerable flexibility when it comes to respecting other faiths.They can also be friendly toward non-Christians groups, from Buddhists to Hindus, etc.

 **2. Among evangelical Protestants there is a strong feeling that Catholicism incorporated many pagan influences over the years**, that Catholicism depends too much upon tradition and other extra-scriptural sources. They would include among these the teaching that the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ at mass. They tend to think of this as idolatry. This goes for some Catholic teachings re Mary, also. They reject the prayerbook liturgy of Catholis worship and favor a freer, more sponteneous form of Christianity, with fewer canned prayers and more prayers from the heart. Some extreme evangelicals may verge on being anti-Catholic.

  It's important, however, to remember that anti-Catholicism today usually means disagreement with the religion and not prejudice against Catholic people. That may not always have been true but is today.

** 3. Then there are those Americans, apparently increasing in number, who take issue with Christianity in general.** There include atheists who consider most religion as based on fairy tales (think of Maher). There are freethinkers who want to make America increasingly secular and hope to rid the public square of Christian influences. Some Jews are especially hostile to Christianity (sometime clandestinely) because of how Christendom treated them in the past. Many of these have a particular bone to pick with Catholicism because they think (fear) that if Catholicism ever became dominant it would want special privilege, as it has in past centuries in majority Catholic countries.
But again, few people hate Catholicism. They disagree with it, maybe strongly. They would oppose any of its efforts to gain special privilege.They sometimes fear it. Many of their ancestors came to America for religious freedom and Catholicism is not regarded as an authentic champion of religious freedom except where its own interests are involved. Those who are well-read may even know of "The Syllabus of Errors" by Pius IX which strongly condemned the separation of church and state, and they may be aware that someone as revered as Aquinas called for the execution of heretics.

 

[newcreation2009]

new creation u forgot verse ten in Ephesians 2:8-9 you should have put ten there too i can respect that you think scripture alone is right but don’t stop using a passage of scripture when it suits you

My bad. Well, if God prepared them in advance, then He already knew we were going to perform those duties, not as a reason FOR His saving grace, but as a sign to others to proclaim it. Anyway, it still proves His grace toward us.

 

[FutureCatholic1]

new creation what of your thoughts on this

Quote:
Originally Posted by newcreation2009
If that is true, then can you tell me how much work is needed to be saved?
A person is saved by Jesus’ work on the cross, and if you think that anything that you do, no matter how ‘good’ it is, will get you into heaven, then you are demeaning Christ’s sacrifice for us. (What is ‘good’ anyway? And what if I do more ‘good’ than you? Do I get ‘first dibbs’?)
As the apostle Paul put it,
“As it is written, there is none righteous, no not one” (Romans 3:10)
and he said that “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
We become truly righteous NOT through our own righteousness, but through the power of Christ’s righteousness. Therefore, to become more like Christ we must partake of the divine nature of Christ (2 Peter 1:4) and His righteousness.
Saved by grace:
A.(Ephesians 2:8-9) - “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that NOT OF YOURSELVES, it is the gift of God; NOT AS A RESULT OF WORKS, that no one should boast.”
B.(Rom. 3:20, 28) - “because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin…For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.”
C.(Galatians 2:16) - “nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law BUT THROUGH FAITH IN CHRIST JESUS, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified.”
D.(James 2:24) - “You see that a man is JUSTIFIED BY WORKS, and not by faith alone.”
God does not want a faith that is empty and hypocritical. James 2 is talking about those who “say” that they have faith but have no works. Therefore, people cannot tell if they are true believers or not, because there is no fruit. That kind of a faith is useless and is not a saving faith. True faith RESULTS IN true works.
There is no contradiction at all when we examine the contexts.
We are justified by faith but that faith must be alive (James 2).
The Law cannot save us because we are incapable of keeping it (Matthew 19:16-17). Therefore, salvation is by grace through faith.
Remember ‘FUTURECATHOLIC’, we sin because we are sinners. We AREN’T sinners because we sin. And since we are sinners we NEED a Savior, and that Savior is Jesus Christ, NOT your ‘‘good’’ works. Please don’t try to rely on anything you do to get you into heaven, you’ll be sadly mistaken one day.

You twist my meaning i never sayed you work your way to heaven i said it is a COMBINATION of GRACE&WORKS
man can never work his way to heaven but neither can we just say God came into me and ‘save’ me. the bible says /But as for cowards, the unfaithful, the depraved, murderers, the unchaste, sorcerers, idol-worshipers, and deceivers of every sort, their lot is in the burning pool of fire and sulfur, which is the second death."/will not be in heaven if according to YOU they believe in Gods grace they will get to heaven therefore following your logic of grace alone the bible contradices itself.